Barry Lyndon

I found it difficult to lose myself in this film. Despite the wonderful way we are transported into the 1700's with the costumes and the set, the pace of the story is unrelentingly constant and becomes a tad wearing. Like Vanity Fair, the story details with a rise and fall within social circles of the day and provides interesting social commentary, but I could not identify with the characters in the same way or really care about what happened to them. The most interesting character was perhaps the highwayman who had a bit part. Still, worth a watch if you like Ryan O'Neal or costume drama and have plenty of time to spare.

When watching this film you realise the greatness of Mr. Kubrick. Maybe not his finest film but what films he has made and left as legacy. Damn, hat off this man is an artist and I hate using that over-used word that people use to describe themselves! ha! We'll be the judge of that. Do see this. Do watch all of Kubrick's films if you can before you die. It's available here with one criticism - the aspect ratio, what a shame.

It is worth watching this one twice. Once for the story and a second time for the costumes. An engaging story,

Like A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971), BARRY LYNDON (1975) was the other Stanley Kubrick film that disappeared into a black hole. Kubrick probably made the film as a direct response to the fact that he was unable to get his beloved NAPOLEON biopic off the ground.

The film, based on the novel by William Makepeace Thackery is an odd choice for Kubrick to make, and it certainly was not as commercially successful as his other films had been up to that point. This is probably because the film has no central characters which are sympathetic. It is the story of an Irish conman and social climber and his eventual downfall. Redmond Barry (RYAN O’NEAL) is cold, calculating and manipulative. Most of the other characters are too. LEON VITALI (Lord Bullingdon), Lyndon’s victimised stepson is cold and manipulative also, but you do get to see his point – Redmond Barry has bulldozed his way into his mother’s family, married Bullingdon’s mother and been very cruel to his stepson. So, you can understand when Bullingdon demands “satisfaction” in a duel.

From a technical standpoint, BARRY LYNDON is beautifully made. The cinematography is breathtaking – it looks like a painting. Superb period detail and production design, a good soundtrack of Baroque classical music, and clear narration of the story by MICHAEL HORDERN. The mainly British supporting cast – all left over from CLOCKWORK ORANGE, (Patrick Magee, Anthony Sharp, Godfrey Quigley, Philip Stone, Steven Berkoff) are all top notch. LEONARD ROSSITER pops up as Captain Quin in an early duel scene. German actor HARDY KRUGER is extremely memorable as an officer in the German army.

Kubrick has made a lush, lavish, sweeping, epic spectacle (rather like those Merchant-Ivory films, THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, A ROOM WITH A VIEW and HOWARD’S END) – but for all it’s technical brilliance BARRY LYNDON is a very drawn-out, slow and long film. Also – the print of the film on this DVD is 4:3 aspect ratio, not Widescreen, which doesn’t help the scale of the film. RYAN O’NEAL does the best he can in the central role, but I can’t help feeling that he was miscast. With such a strong British and European supporting cast already in place, would it not have been better to cast someone like ALBERT FINNEY in the role instead?

In conclusion, I would say that with BARRY LYNDON, Kubrick made a Good Film – not a Great Film. And, despite what the film’s trailer on the DVD says – it is certainly not a Classic or a Masterpiece.

A beautiful film about the rise and fall of a man, every scene made with a painter's eye. Ryan O'Neal at the peak of his prettiness and a joy to look at. Plenty of gorgeous costumes and lots of duelling. Definitely passes the sleep test.